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The I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News

Category: Nature & Science

  • New five-year GPS collaring study launched to help with Front Range elk management

    New five-year GPS collaring study launched to help with Front Range elk management

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists and wildlife officers have launched a five-year elk collaring study to obtain data that will help to better manage the Clear Creek elk herd.

    Over 40 GPS satellite collars will be deployed on cow (female) elk across the herd’s range to better understand elk movements, reproductive rates, migration patterns and habitat use. 

    Capture work will be accomplished with helicopters and ground darting and trapping. The location information from the GPS collars will help inform wildlife managers of possible management strategies related to herd management plan objectives and habitat use. Elk locations will also aid land management agencies in land use planning decisions. 

    Project work is being done in collaboration with private landowners, city and county open space departments (Jefferson and Boulder Counties), United States Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

    “This project will help inform local management decisions. What we’ve noticed in the last couple of years  is that elk are spending more time on open space and golf courses,” said biologist Ben Kraft, who is spearheading this project. “This project will help develop management strategies at both the local and herd level. Determining when and where elk occur and how many will there are is the first step in mitigating some of the issues CPW and land managers and owners are currently experiencing.”

    Capture work started in Golden on Dec. 19 on the Club at Rolling Hills and Fossil Trace Golf Club. Work then shifted to Rocky Flats with the USFWS and will move along to the other locations. The team is hopeful to get all of the collars out by the end of March 2021. 

    The main purpose of the collars is to help us collect baseline data on elk distribution and obtain better estimates of vital rates on the herd. 

    “CPW hasn’t conducted a collar study on this elk herd,” Kraft said. “What we know at this point is that distribution is changing, so we are trying to get a handle on that change and the interaction with land use and the Front Range’s growing human population.

    “As previously mentioned, another goal of this project is gaining a better understanding of demographics of the herd. As is the usual practice in most areas of the state, we can’t fly to classify and survey these elk, so using collared elk as “Judas” elk when we conduct ground surveys in Februarys will give us a better idea of recruitment and in which direction the population is trending.”

    The collars will give locations twice a day, but if we have other management objectives, say we are looking at how trails impact distribution, then we can get more frequent data in those areas. It will be tailored to the specific sub-herds we are investigating.

    Previous studies collaring elk in Estes Park and Rabbit Mountain on Boulder County Open Space have taught us a lot about distribution and land use. 

    “We’ve learned not only what the current distribution is, but we’ve seen shifts in elk distribution in real time as land use has changed,” Kraft said. “We know that elk are really adaptable to all kinds of factors on the landscape like recreation, development and open space areas have become a really big magnet for elk herds.”

    Deciding on what management tactics to implement once we get a clear picture from the data can be a hard question to address. 

    Hunting is our No. 1 management tool,  and it has proven very effective in urban areas and on open space.

    “We’ve done that up north in Boulder County on Rabbit Mountain and have been very successful implementing those kinds of public harvest programs,” Kraft said. “So I think in these areas, and specifically on Jefferson County Open Space, I think we can implement some of those management strategies and the main push for that would be to redistribute elk back to the west so they are not forming resident herds in the foothills along urban interface areas. Trying to get them to get back into more of a natural movement and migration pattern is the primary goal.”

    This growing urban elk herd creates human safety concerns, causes damage to agricultural operations, presents challenges for herd and disease management and we are seeing habitat degradation across the landscape. Damage done by these urban elk herds can be costly.

    The golf courses in Golden are seeing tens of thousands of dollars in damage from the elk each year, as over 100 elk feed on the courses year-round. Some Golden residents have brought concerns forward to CPW staff about the safety of their children, pets, landscaping and traffic safety when elk are in their neighborhoods.

    “As the elk continue to move east, there is growing concern for human safety,” said Wildlife Officer Jerrie McKee. “I-70 lies just a half mile to the east of where the elk now commonly travel.”

    And that takes us back to one of the primary objectives of this study – distribution. What can we learn from their movement and can we try to redistribute the elk back to the west out of town where it will be safer for both them and the people.

    Watch as crews place the first collars out on the elk for the study

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  • Colorado Parks and Wildlife enters next phase of ‘Live Life Outside’ campaign with ‘Conservation Starts Small’

    DENVER, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is entering the second phase of the Live Life Outside campaign it started in 2019, designed to help the public better understand and engage with the conservation mission of the agency.

    The second phase of the campaign is Conservation Starts Small, an attempt to bring conservation down to a smaller and more relatable scale for people to more easily participate in. The campaign includes a series of print, outdoor and online ads. Conservation Starts Small highlights the little things anyone can do to help with conservation while living life outside. The new ads point to things like keeping dogs leashed, staying on marked trails, not feeding your snacks to wildlife and cleaning up used fishing line as small things individuals can do that make a big difference.

    Ads like the one above will appear in print, outdoor, and online ads as part of CPW’s ‘Conservation Starts Small’ campaign.

     

     

    “It’s a message to start small and live life outside responsibly,” said Tony Gurzick, Marketing and Creative Services Manager for CPW. “It helps us reach people where they are in their everyday lives and ties into the larger Live Life Outside campaign by creating opportunities to talk about the deep connection between recreation and conservation.”

    “Whether you enjoy hiking, hunting, bird watching, rock climbing or any activity in between, we all need to work together to conserve the resources that make Colorado home,” said Gurzick.

    For more than 120 years, CPW employees have been entrusted to protect the natural resources of Colorado. The agency’s mission charges staff with handling the large scale, ongoing conservation efforts around the state; such as preventing the spread of nuisance plants and animals; managing threatened and endangered species reintroductions and recoveries; maintaining and improving fish and wildlife habitat; conserving Colorado’s 960 species and managing 41 state parks and hundreds of state wildlife areas across the state.

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife is self-funded by the fees received from hunters, anglers, recreational vehicle registrations and state park visitors. Those groups financially support the conservation efforts of the agency along with the Colorado Lottery, Great Outdoors Colorado and federal grants. 

    As the state’s population grows, so does the pressure on our natural resources. This growth also brings social issues like crowding on trails and unsafe encounters with wildlife. The time is right to start asking Coloradans to take simple steps to help protect our natural resources for future generations. 

    The campaign messages are easy things individuals can do on their own, be it backyard or backcountry. Or they can join the agency in their efforts by volunteering, staying informed through CPW social media or practicing the Care for Colorado principles developed by Leave No Trace and the Colorado tourism office. 

    About the Live Life Outside Campaign

    In 2019, the need for a tagline and strategic campaign arose as CPW sought avenues to remind Coloradans of the importance of conservation and responsible recreation as a part of enjoying the Colorado outdoors.

    CPW’s tagline, Live Life Outside highlights the passion and lifestyle of the agency and the Colorado outdoor community, while creating an opportunity to talk about the deep connection between recreation and conservation.

    A recent report from CPW and Southwick Associates shows the $62.5 billion economic impact of outdoor recreation in our state, with 92% of residents claiming to recreate outdoors. These numbers make it clear that the wildlife and wild spaces of our state are the reason why so many of us choose Colorado as a place to work and play. However, Coloradans’ shared appreciation for the outdoors also comes with a responsibility to conserve our natural resources.

    Colorado provides so many opportunities to Live Life Outside. To learn more about volunteering with CPW and supporting conservation through outdoor recreation, visit livelifeoutside.co. Or show how you “Live Life Outside” when you post on social media by using the hashtag #livelifeoutsideCO. 

     

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  • Whirling Disease resistant rainbow trout now a reality in Colorado

    Whirling Disease resistant rainbow trout now a reality in Colorado

    Whirling Disease first impacted Colorado’s rainbow trout in the mid-1990s and eliminated many wild populations of this popular sport fish. The aquatic tragedy sparked a decades-long effort by Colorado Parks and Wildlife research scientists to find a remedy and re-establish populations.

     Since 2003, the researchers have been crossing a strain of rainbow trout resistant to the disease with other strains of rainbows in the hope of developing a trout that would fend off whirling disease. Now, after more than 20 years of study, frustration, experimentation and dogged persistence by CPW’s aquatic researchers, the tide has turned in the fight against the dreaded disease. Whirling-disease resistant rainbows are now thriving in the wild and the agency is collecting their spawn, enabling hatcheries to propagate millions of fish that will be distributed to rivers and streams throughout the state.

     “Thanks to advance genetic testing, we know these fish are maintaining their resistance to whirling disease,” said George Schisler, CPW’s aquatic research chief. “Now they are surviving, reproducing and contributing to future generations of Gunnison River rainbows.”

     This long success story started on an August day in 1994 when former CPW researcher Barry Nehring, while walking the river bank in the Gunnison Gorge, noticed small fish swimming helplessly in circles. He knew immediately that the fish were infected with a microscopic spore that damages the cartilage of young fish and prevents them from swimming and developing normally. Whirling disease had arrived in the wild.

     The disease was accidentally introduced to Colorado in the late 1980s when infected fish were imported  to state and private hatcheries. After those fish were stocked in 40 locations, the spore spread and within a decade infected many rivers throughout state. The disease kills young fish, so eventually natural reproduction by wild rainbows ended across much of Colorado.

     In search of a remedy, CPW scientists and biologists from wildlife agencies throughout the West started researching the disease in the late 1990s. At a national conference in Denver in 2002, a researcher from Europe who studied whirling disease gave a presentation about a strain of disease- resistant rainbow trout he’d found at a hatchery in Germany. Schisler, working with the University of California-Davis, imported eggs and then tested the hatched fingerlings, known as Hofers – named after the German hatchery. He found they were 100 times more resistant to the disease than the various CPW rainbow strains.

     He also learned that because these fish had been raised in a hatchery for decades, they showed no inkling of the flight response needed to elude predators in the wild. So researchers started crossing them with wild strains, such as the Harrison Lake and Colorado River rainbow to produce fish that exhibit wild behavior and maintain resistance to whirling disease. Those fish were stocked in rivers around the state and some natural reproduction started.

    Biologists working in the East Portal Section of the Gunnison River gorge began documenting wild reproduction of rainbow trout in that location in the mid-2000s. These fish demonstrated strong resistance to whirling disease, but also had instincts to survive in the wild. Through advanced genetic analysis, Schisler and his research partner, Eric Fetherman, determined that a DNA marker unique to the stocked Hofer-crosses appeared to have been incorporated into this population, resulting in observed resistance to the disease.

     The researchers and agency aquatic biologists determined that developing a brood stock using the Gunnison River trout would be the best way to repopulate Colorado’s rivers with wild rainbows. Since 2014, more than 500,000 eggs have been collected from these fish to stock into whirling disease positive rivers and to create hatchery brood stocks.

     The trout now has its own moniker: The Gunnison River Rainbow.

     CPW’s Glenwood Springs hatchery is propogating both the pure Gunnison River Rainbows and crosses of those fish and other strains of whirling disease-resistant rainbows. This summer more than 1.3 million of fingerling disease-resistant rainbows will be stocked in rivers and streams throughout the state.

    The ultimate goal of the stocking effort is to restore natural reproduction in the wild, eliminating the need to stock rainbows in the future.

     However, re-establishing the rainbows continues to be a long-term project. After rainbows vanished, brown trout took over Colorado’s big rivers. They prey on the small rainbows that are stocked or hatch and compete for food and habitat with adult rainbows. Biologists say it will take many years for rainbows to become firmly established.

     Research scientists don’t declare victory easily, but Fetherman noted that the research project in the East Portal is officially closed. Populations across the state will continue to be monitored because the tiny worms that produce the spores causing whirling disease will likely always exist in Colorado’s rivers.

     “I feel like we’ve done some good work and these fish are ready to be stocked statewide,” Fetherman said.

    For more information on CPW’s aquatic programs, go to: 

    https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/Fishing.aspx

     

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  • Forests bouncing back from beetles, but elk and deer slowing recovery

    Forests bouncing back from beetles, but elk and deer slowing recovery

    Two words, and a tiny little creature, strike fear in the hearts of many Colorado outdoor enthusiasts: bark beetle. But new research from University of Colorado Boulder reveals that even simultaneous bark beetle outbreaks are not a death sentence to the state’s beloved forests. 

    The study, published this month in the journal Ecology, found that high-elevation forests in the southern Rocky Mountains actually have a good chance of recovery, even after overlapping outbreaks with different kinds of beetles. One thing that is slowing their recovery down: Foraging elk and deer.

    “This is actually a bright point, at least for the next several decades,” said Robert Andrus, lead author of the study and recent PhD graduate in physical geography. “Even though we had multiple bark beetle outbreaks, we found that 86 percent of the stands of trees that we surveyed are currently on a trajectory for recovery.” 

    Between 2005 and 2017, a severe outbreak of spruce bark beetles swept through more than 741,000 acres of high-elevation forest in the southern Rocky Mountains near Wolf Creek Pass — killing more than 90 percent of Engelmann spruce trees in many stands. At the same time, the western balsam bark beetle infested subalpine fir trees across almost 124,000 acres within the same area. 

    If you go skiing in Colorado, you’re usually in a high-elevation, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir forest, said Andrus. 

    The researchers wanted to know if these overlapping events, caused by two different types of bark beetles, would limit the ability of the forest to recover. So they measured more than 14,000 trees in 105 stands in the eastern San Juan Mountains, tallying the surviving species and the number of deaths. They had expected that the combined effects of two bark beetle outbreaks would prevent forest recovery, but they found that the forests were quite resilient.

    That’s an important contrast from what happens following a severe fire, which can cause forests to convert to grasslands, according to previous research by Thomas Veblen, coauthor of the study and Distinguished Professor of Geography.

    “It’s important that we perform these sorts of studies, because we need different management responses depending on the forest type and the kind of disturbance,” said Veblen.

    They also found that greater tree species diversity prior to the bark beetle outbreaks was a key component of resilient forests.

    Trees killed by bark beetles remain standing in the southern Rocky Mountains. (Credit: Robert Andrus)

    Tens of millions of acres across the Western United States and North America have been affected in the past two decades, and Colorado has not been spared. A severe mountain pine beetle outbreak began in 1996, easily visible along I-70 and in Rocky Mountain National Park. Since 2000, more than 1.8 million acres of Engelmann spruce statewide have been affected by spruce beetles in high-elevation forests.

    With continued warming there will come a time where conditions caused by climate change exceed the forests’ ability to recover, said Veblen. 

    Impacts of Ungulates

    The study is the first to consider the effects of two different types of beetles that affect two different dominant tree species, as well as the effects of browsing elk and deer in the same area. 

    Bark beetles prefer bigger, mature trees with thicker bark, which offer more nutrients and better protection in the wintertime. They typically leave the younger, juvenile trees alone–allowing the next generation to recover and repopulate the forest. 

    But while in the field, researchers noticed many smaller trees were being munched on by elk and deer. Known as “ungulates,” these animals like to nibble the top of young trees, which can stunt the trees’ vertical growth. They found more than half of the tops of all smaller trees had been browsed. 

    That doesn’t mean that those trees are going to die–ungulates are just more likely to slow the rate of forest recovery. 

    Avid Colorado skiers and mountaineers looking forward to typical, green forests, however, will have to be patient. 

    “We don’t expect full forest recovery for decades,” said Andrus.

    Sarah Hart, also a PhD graduate of CU and now a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, contributed to this study.

     

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  • Colorado lakes, reservoirs remain free of invasive mussels; but more boats found with mussel infestations in 2019

    DENVER, Colo. – More boats requiring decontamination because of infestations of destructive mussels entered Colorado last year than in 2018, but the statewide inspection program coordinated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife again succeeded in keeping invasive mussels out of the state’s lakes and reservoirs.

    While Colorado remains mussel free, CPW officials are concerned that the number of boats entering Colorado that need decontamination continues to increase. CPW will not let down its guard to keep invasive aquatic species out of the state.

    “The Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Aquatic Nuisance Species Program continues to meet the challenge of protecting the state’s water resources and infrastructure from the establishment of Aquatic Nuisance Species,” said Elizabeth Brown, the agency’s invasive species program manager. “Colorado remains free of adult zebra and quagga mussel reproducing populations, while some nearby western states without mandatory inspection programs continue to detect infestations. Colorado has prevented the introduction of this invasive species due to the diligent efforts of watercraft inspection and decontamination, early detection monitoring, education and enforcement efforts.”

    Other western states that have mussel infestations include: Arizona, Utah, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and California. Where there are infestations, mussels can clog up pipes and important infrastructure, cover docks, shorelines, rocks, any hard surface and can ruin powerboat engines.

    Throughout the state last year, 481,543 boat inspections were conducted, 7,000 more than in 2018. A total of 22,947 boats, 281 with attached mussels, were decontaminated, compared with 19,111 in 2018. Unfortunately, the number of intercepted boats fully infested with mussels increased by 40 percent, from 51 in 2018 to 86 in 2019. In 2017, only 16 mussel-infested boats were intercepted.

    Brown said she’s very concerned about the substantial increase in infested boats entering the state.

    Thanks to CPW’s inspection program, Colorado remains free of invasive aquatic mussels. But the number of boats that require decontamination is increasing.

    “This growth trend is directly related to the growing threat invasive mussels pose to Colorado’s water infrastructure, natural resources and outdoor recreation. Along with work by our partners, CPW’s Invasive Species Program is critical to maintaining opportunities for recreation, preserving natural heritage and protecting water supply and delivery infrastructure for municipal, industrial and agricultural use,” Brown said.

    A fully formed adult zebra or quagga mussel has never been detected in Colorado waters. However, the larval stage of the mussels, known as veligers, were detected as recently as 2017 in Green Mountain Reservoir in Summit County and the reservoir is still considered suspect for quagga mussels. For detection, biologists perform three types of sampling to target the three life stages of mussels. CPW confirms all visual detections with DNA analysis to confirm the genus and species of the mussel. If no additional detections are verified in 2020, Green Mountain Reservoir will be delisted.

    In 2019, crews sampled 179 standing, and four flowing waters statewide for veligers. In addition to the sampling efforts performed by CPW, the National Park Service contributed 38 plankton samples. There were no detections of zebra or quagga mussels in Colorado.

    CPW works in partnership with dozens of other agencies, counties and municipalities throughout the state. Help from the partners is critical in maintaining a mussel-free Colorado, Brown said.

    For more information about CPW’s ANS prevention program, see: https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/BoatInspection.aspx.

     

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  • Feeding big-game wildlife is selfish and illegal

    DENVER – Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds citizens that big-game wildlife does not need our help to get through a winter and that feeding them is not only illegal, but does more harm than good. 

    The annual reminder holds true across the entire state, but this one is being issued after egregious incidences have been discovered by wildlife officers in Jefferson and Park Counties. 

    One incident occurred in the Burland Ranchettes Subdivision of Bailey where a homeowner was feeding deer in his yard and the deer would rush towards the resident from surrounding properties when he was outside. A second act was by an Evergreen resident who was luring deer into her home where she would feed them human food that you can see in the photo blow. 

    Wildlife officers contacted both parties and charges were filed. Violations for feeding big-game wildlife can result in a $100 fine per occasion of feeding, plus mandatory surcharges.

    “It is selfish and unethical to feed big-game,” said Area Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb. “You are going to end up unintentionally killing those animals and also putting yourself in harm’s way. If what you want is a pet or just to connect with an animal, choose a domestic breed that has evolved to live with people.”

    Wild deer are meant to be out in the wild, they are not meant to be pets. Feeding them leads to trouble for both wildlife and humans alike.

    Attracting deer to your property by providing food for them causes animals to congregate in one area. It disrupts their natural migration patterns, can lead to resident herds that degrade habitats, enables the spread of diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease and also attracts predators.

    “If you are training deer to come and stay in your backyard, you are asking mountain lions to be in your neighborhood as well,” Lamb said. 

    Feeding issues involving big-game are a common problem seen across Evergreen, Conifer and Bailey where wildlife officers contacted a dozen individuals for feeding big game back in January. 

    Not only does the feeding of big-game animals change their natural migration, but it disrupts their digestive systems. Big-game animals can die if fed the wrong food.

    “Whether you believe feeding is correct or not, it is against the law,” said Wildlife Officer Scott Murdoch.

    “I commonly find that mountain residents believe feeding deer and elk is a helpful and harmless act, but doing so habituates these animals to people in ways that completely alter the natural distribution of elk and deer and disrupts their natural wild behavior,” said Wildlife Officer Joe Nicholson. “Turning your yard into a virtual zoo by feeding deer and elk is not safe for people, not healthy for wildlife and is truly a selfish act. The proper way to enjoy viewing wildlife is to do so from a safe distance and without artificially introducing feed, salt, or other attractants that alter their natural use of the landscape and aversion to people.” 

    To learn more about the dangers of feeding wildlife, please see the links below from the informational video series on not feeding wildlife:

    Wildlife in Winter: Winter Ranges

    Wildlife in Winter: Finding Enough Food

    Feeding Wildlife: Harmful Not Helpful

     

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  • 2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit will take place March 31-April 1 in Amarillo, Texas

    2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit will take place March 31-April 1 in Amarillo, Texas

    The 2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit will take place in Amarillo, Texas, from March 31 to April 1, bringing together water management leaders from all eight Ogallala region states: Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota and Wyoming. The dynamic, interactive event will focus on encouraging exchange among participants about innovative programs and effective approaches to addressing the region’s significant water-related challenges.

    “Tackling Tough Question” is the theme of the event. Workshops and speakers will share and compare responses to questions such as: “What is the value of groundwater to current and future generations?” and “How do locally led actions aimed at addressing water challenges have larger-scale impact?”

    “The summit provides a unique opportunity to strengthen collaborations among a diverse range of water-focused stakeholders,” said summit co-chair Meagan Schipanski, an associate professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at CSU. “Exploring where we have common vision and identifying innovative concepts or practices already being implemented can catalyze additional actions with potential to benefit the aquifer and Ogallala region communities over the short and long term.”

    Schipanski co-directs the Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project (CAP) with Colorado Water Center director and summit co-chair Reagan Waskom, who is also a faculty member in Soil and Crop Sciences. The Ogallala Water CAP, supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, has a multi-disciplinary team of 70 people based at 10 institutions in six Ogallala-region states. They are all engaged in collaborative research and outreach for sustaining agriculture and ecosystems in the region.

    Some Ogallala Water CAP research and outreach results will be shared at the 2020 Ogallala Summit. The Ogallala Water CAP has led the coordination of the event, in partnership with colleagues at Texas A&M AgriLife, the Kansas Water Office, and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-funded Ogallala Aquifer Program, with additional support provided by many individuals and organizations from the eight Ogallala states.

    The 2020 Summit will highlight several activities and outcomes inspired by or expanded as a result of the 2018 Ogallala Summit. Participants will include producers; irrigation company and commodity group representatives; students and academics; local and state policy makers; groundwater management district leaders; crop consultants; agricultural lenders; state and federal agency staff; and others, including new and returning summit participants.

    “Water conservation technologies are helpful, and we need more of them, but human decision-making is the real key to conserving the Ogallala,” said Brent Auvermann, center director at Texas A&M AgriLife Research – Amarillo. “The emergence of voluntary associations among agricultural water users to reduce groundwater use is an encouraging step, and we need to learn from those associations’ experiences with regard to what works, and what doesn’t, and what possibilities exist that don’t require expanding the regulatory state.”

    The summit will take place over two half-days, starting at 11 a.m. Central Time (10 a.m. MDT) on Tuesday, March 31 and concluding the next day on Wednesday, April 1 at 2:30 p.m. The event includes a casual evening social on the evening of March 31 that will feature screening of a portion of the film “Rising Water,” by Nebraska filmmaker Becky McMillen, followed by a panel discussion on effective agricultural water-related communications.

    Visit the 2020 Ogallala summit webpage to see a detailed agenda, lodging info, and to access online registration. Pre-registration is required, and space is limited. The registration deadline is Saturday, March 21 at midnight Central Time (11 p.m. MDT).

    This event is open to credentialed members of the media. Please RSVP to or

     

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  • Aerial Survey: Though Declining, Spruce Beetle Remains Top Priority for State and Federal Agencies

    Aerial Survey: Though Declining, Spruce Beetle Remains Top Priority for State and Federal Agencies

    LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Forest managers are working together to address continued outbreaks of insects and disease on Colorado’s forests, including spruce beetle, which remains the most damaging forest pest in the state for the eighth consecutive year, based on a 2019 aerial detection survey led by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, and Colorado State Forest Service.

    Every year, the agencies aerially monitor forest health conditions on millions of forested acres across the state. Today, the agencies released the results of last year’s aerial survey and survey map.

     “Healthy, resilient forests are crucial to ensure that the American public continues to have clean water and air, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities,” said Jennifer Eberlien, acting regional forester for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. “This report is a snapshot of year-round proactive efforts to manage forests statewide, promote healthy landscapes and shared stewardship.”

     Impacts from Native Bark Beetles

    In 2019, spruce beetle affected 89,000 acres of high-elevation Engelmann spruce across Colorado. Although the number of acres affected by this beetle declined for the fifth year in a row, it continues to expand its footprint by spreading to previously unaffected areas. Last year, it affected 25,000 new acres of forest.

    Primary areas impacted by spruce beetle include forestlands in and around Rocky Mountain National Park and portions of the San Juan Mountains, West Elk Mountains and Sawatch Range.

    Since 2000, spruce beetle outbreaks caused tree mortality on roughly 1.87 million acres in Colorado, and about 41 percent of the spruce-fir forests in the state have now been affected. Blowdown events in Engelmann spruce stands, combined with long-term drought stress, warmer temperatures and extensive amounts of older, densely growing trees, contributed to this ongoing epidemic.

    Roundheaded pine beetle, along with associated native bark beetles, continued to affect ponderosa pine forests in Dolores County in southwest Colorado. This insect affected 22,000 acres in 2019. While this is a slight decline from 2018, when 26,900 acres were affected, record-low precipitation levels in 2018 in this part of the state have weakened tree defenses, providing an environmental window that continues to favor an increase in beetle populations in southwest Colorado.

    View of Maroon Bells Near Snowmass During Aerial Servey – Photo (c) Dan West
    Aspen Fungal Leaf Spots – Photo (c) Dan West
    dult Roundheaded Pine Beetles – Photo (c) Dan West
    Hundreds of Acres of Spruce Beetle-Caused Tree Mortality on Rio Grande National Forest – Photo (c) Dan West

     From Dry and Hot to Wet and Mild

     The amount of precipitation and daily temperature patterns affect how well trees in the state’s forests can ward off pests to remain healthy and resilient. Colorado experienced near-average temperatures from October 2018 to September 2019. During that same period, precipitation levels rebounded from the prior year, which was the second driest on record since 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

     This was good for Colorado’s trees impacted by bark beetles. Adequate precipitation in 2019 bolstered their defenses by helping trees produce enough sap to resist insects attempting to enter through the bark. However, this precipitation, coupled with mild temperatures, caused heavy snowpack to persist later than usual, delaying tree symptoms from insect attacks. This made aerial detections difficult, which may explain the decline in acres affected by spruce beetle.

     Wet spring conditions in 2019 also created favorable conditions for several species of leaf fungi, which can cause early leaf drop and spotting on leaves of cottonwood, aspen and poplar trees. Defoliating insects may also cause damage. Surveyors detected disturbance on 73,600 acres of aspens in 2019, although these insects and diseases rarely cause significant tree decline unless trees are severely defoliated over multiple years.

     Most Widespread Forest Defoliator

     The aerial survey also revealed that western spruce budworm continues to be Colorado’s most damaging and widespread forest defoliator. The insect affected 147,000 acres of Douglas-fir and spruce trees in 2019, mostly in central and southern areas of the state. This is up from the 131,000 acres impacted by the western spruce budworm in 2018. Defoliation that occurs over several years may weaken a tree to the point where bark beetles can easily overcome the tree and kill it. 

     In addition, the aerial survey showed the effects on forests from other insects. Douglas-fir beetle affected numerous pockets of forestland covering 7,400 acres, down from 14,000 acres in 2018, and the mountain pine beetle affected only 720 acres statewide. While it remains at natural, endemic levels, the aerial survey found a slight uptick in mountain pine beetle activity in the Taylor River drainage in Gunnison County.

     “Colorado’s forests are vital to the economic and ecological health of our state,” said Mike Lester, state forester and director of the Colorado State Forest Service. “Our partnership with the U.S. Forest Service on the aerial survey offers another great example of how working together, we can effectively address forest health issues that span property boundaries, like bark beetle outbreaks. With information from the survey, we better understand the health of our forests and can focus our efforts where they’ll make the biggest impact.”

     The aerial survey exemplifies the agencies’ continued support for shared stewardship and the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding, which establishes a framework for federal and state agencies to collaborate better, focus on accomplishing mutual goals and respond to ecological, natural resource and recreational challenges and concerns for our 24.4 million acres of forestlands in Colorado.

     This past year for the aerial survey, pilots use a tailored, web-based application that allows the USDA Forest Service to share data during flights in real time with partners and the public. By capitalizing on this technology, the agency can proactively and quickly respond to outbreaks that surveyors detect on forestlands, share data more collaboratively and cover more area efficiently.

     For more results from 2019 aerial survey, please visit https://bit.ly/38xkk3y.

     For more information on the insects and diseases of Colorado’s forests, and support for landowners seeking to achieve healthier forests, contact your local CSFS field office or visit csfs.colostate.edu.

     

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  • Bennet Criticizes Trump Administration’s Lack of Seriousness to Secure U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence

    Bennet Criticizes Trump Administration’s Lack of Seriousness to Secure U.S. Leadership in Artificial Intelligence

    Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet sent a letter to the Trump administration addressing its inadequate commitment to securing U.S. competiveness in artificial intelligence (AI). Bennet’s letter, addressed to U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios, is in response to the regulatory principles for AI the administration released earlier this month. In the letter, Bennet criticizes the administration’s “light touch” approach and cites its policies with respect to scientific research, education, workforce training, and immigration as damaging to U.S. leadership in AI.

     “U.S. competitiveness in AI is an economic and national security imperative. The administration’s current policies, however, are insufficient to achieve it. The principles released this month reflect an approach from this administration that assumes minimal federal guidance and investment are sufficient to secure U.S. competitiveness in AI,” wrote Bennet. “The administration’s new principles for AI represent little more than gauzy generalities when America’s competitiveness and security demand a comprehensive, forward-looking, and well-resourced approach consistent with our values.”

     Last year, Bennet convened a group of Colorado leaders from a cross-section of industry, higher education, federal research laboratories, and policy to form the Colorado Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Strategy Group. The AI Strategy Group is focused on identifying opportunities for Colorado to harness AI’s potential, identify related challenges, and help shape solutions. Bennet also worked with Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to secure an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act to better understand China’s AI capabilities and the path forward to maintain U.S. superiority in this emerging technology.

     The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

     Dear Mr. Kratsios:

     Earlier this month, the administration released regulatory principles to govern the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the private sector. U.S. competitiveness in AI is an economic and national security imperative. The administration’s current policies, however, are insufficient to achieve it.

     The principles released this month reflect an approach from this administration that assumes minimal federal guidance and investment are sufficient to secure U.S. competitiveness in AI. At first, the administration refused to develop a national strategy for AI, only later reversing course with the “American AI Initiative” Executive Order. Although the proliferation of AI-related efforts across the executive branch, especially in the Departments of Defense and Energy, are welcome, they still lack the long-term vision and resources needed to secure U.S. competitiveness.

     The White House principles are the latest example of this insufficient approach. Although they attempt to provide a national regulatory framework to preempt a patchwork of state and local policies, they are so vaguely constructed that they could perversely increase local regulations, hurting both industry and innovation. At the same time, the principles are so vague as to justify potentially unlimited legal challenges from industry groups while giving the White House an effective veto over any proposed agency regulation. The broad principles also fail to reflect the wide range of AI technologies.

     Although summary principles are necessarily reductive, certain omissions are hard to overlook. The principles make only passing reference to privacy protections. They include just a cursory discussion of Americans’ civil rights. The principles also reference no effort to coordinate AI policy with allies and partners around the world, echoing the administration’s unilateral rejection of the G7’s Global Partnership on AI in 2018. The U.S. cannot lead the world in AI if we do not engage it. Worse, our isolation risks allowing China to set AI standards and norms across the globe for a generation.

     More broadly, it is hard to take seriously the administration’s commitment to U.S. competitiveness in AI when it has proposed sharp cuts to federal investment in science and research. The administration’s budget for 2020 proposed billions in funding cuts for the National Science Foundation (NSF), which would have resulted in thousands fewer grants for vital research. Although the administration has told agencies to prioritize AI research and development, it has failed to set spending targets, establish metrics, or allocate additional funding.

     The administration has also failed to adequately educate our future workforce for success in integrating AI. The National Science & Technology Council released a “Strategy for STEM Education” report calling for a $4 billion investment, but the administration failed to follow-through by pushing for a commensurate budget. Positive steps, such as the 2017 presidential memorandum devoting $200 million in Department of Education funds to STEM and computer science annually, are helpful but still far short of workforce needs. Similarly, although the administration’s renewed focus on computer science education is welcome, what is required is a specific focus on developing AI skills for learners from all stages and backgrounds to ensure the opportunities from AI are broadly shared.

     The administration has also not taken adequate steps to help today’s workers attain stability and mobility as technologies like AI change the nature of work. According to the Brookings Institution, 36 million workers will face high exposure to automation in the coming decades. The successful integration of AI in the workforce requires significant investment in reskilling workers, increasing access to accelerated learning and certifications, and improving alignment between traditional education and employer needs. Although the President signed an executive order in 2017 to “create apprenticeships for millions of our citizens”, not a single one has been created to date.

     Similarly, the administration’s immigration policy is at war with America’s AI needs. Today, foreign nationals comprise more than half of our top AI talent. International students represent nearly four-fifths of our full-time computer science graduates, and immigrants found a quarter of our technology start-ups. Last year, a study by Deloitte projected that we will need 3.5 million STEM jobs by 2025, two million of which will go unfilled in 2025 because of a skilled labor shortage. Despite the clear need, the administration has doubled denial rates for high-skilled, H-1B visas, doubled processing delays for citizenship applications, and ramped up visas fees. The world’s top talent have received the message: the rate of international students enrolling in our colleges and universities has fallen more than 10 percent in recent years. The desire of immigrants to live and work in America is one of our greatest assets in our pursuit of AI leadership, and this administration has taken every opportunity to squander it.

     In this light, the administration’s new principles for AI represent little more than gauzy generalities when America’s competitiveness and security demand a comprehensive, forward-looking, and well-resourced approach consistent with our values.

     I would like the administration to share its specific plans to develop and implement such an approach and to address the other concerns raised here. I appreciate your attention to this matter.

     Sincerely,

     

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  • Blue Mesa Reservoir Lake Trout Tournament starts Feb. 1; $10,000 in cash prizes

    Blue Mesa Reservoir Lake Trout Tournament starts Feb. 1; $10,000 in cash prizes

    GUNNISON, Colo. – A six-month-long fishing tournament with $10,000 in prize money sponsored by Colorado Parks and Wildlife starts Feb. 1 at Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison in western Colorado.

    The tournament, which continues through July 31, is aimed at maintaining adequate kokanee fry survival by limiting predation from lake trout. Anglers are asked to target smaller-sized lake trout, those that are 24 inches in length or smaller. 

    “By sponsoring this tournament, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking anglers to be our partners in helping to manage the renowned Blue Mesa Reservoir fishery,” said Dan Brauch, aquatic biologist for CPW in Gunnison. “We know we can have an excellent kokanee fishery and a trophy lake trout fishery, but we need to continue our work for both species and we need the help of Colorado’s anglers.”

    Here’s how the tournament works: Anglers who catch lake trout 24 inches or smaller will remove the heads and place them in a plastic bag provided at one of three boat ramps at the reservoir: Iola, Elk Creek and Lake Fork. Heads can also be turned in at CPW’s offices in Gunnison (300 W. New York Ave.) or Montrose (2300 S. Townsend Ave., U.S. Highway 550). There is no fee to participate in the tournament.

    Cash prizes will be awarded in three categories at the conclusion of the tournament:

    1) CPW has tagged 23 fish in the reservoir but anglers won’t know if they’ve caught one. CPW will scan the heads later to check for tags and those who caught them will receive $250 for each.

    2) Anglers catching the most fish: 1st place, $1,000; 2nd place, $500; 3rd place, $250.

    3) Anglers will be entered in a raffle for every lake trout head turned in. A total of 20 winners will be selected and each winner will receive $200.

    Kokanee provide the greatest draw for overall catch and harvest while lake trout provide the greatest draw for their trophy potential. Lake trout require plentiful kokanee as prey to achieve trophy size.

    Some lake trout that weigh over 50 pounds and 44 inches in length have been caught at Blue Mesa Reservoir. 

     A change in water management in the early 1990s at BMR resulted in improved conditions at lake trout spawning areas in the fall and now they reproduce naturally. As the number of lake trout grew, they feasted on kokanee which resulted in a significant population decline. Recently, through angler harvest and CPW’s lake trout suppression work, the number of predatory lake trout has been reduced and kokanee abundance has improved.

    CPW research shows that smaller lake trout, those 24 inches and smaller, consume the most kokanee. Consequently, the lake trout harvest tournament is focused on removing fish of those sizes.

    “Anglers harvest about 6,000 lake trout each year,” Brauch said. “But we need increased harvest of small lake trout to keep population growth in check and to reduce the need for additional lake trout suppression work by CPW.”

    Maintaining abundant kokanee will support quality fishing opportunities for kokanee and a source of kokanee eggs for restocking needs at up to 25 waters in Colorado while allowing for continued growth of trophy lake trout.

    There is no limit on the number of lake trout under 32 inches that can be caught in a day at BMR, but only one fish more than 32 inches may be kept.

    “By utilizing anglers’ skills and expertise we’re confident that we can maintain balance of the BMR fishery,” Brauch said.

     For more information about fishing at Blue Mesa Reservoir, including how to catch lake trout, research studies and management planning go to: https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/BlueMesaReservoirFisheryManagement.aspx.

     You may also call the Gunnison wildlife office at: 970-641-7060.

     

     

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